Batman: The Killing Joke Review

(Sorry I couldn't get an actual poster here)

            There are countless graphic novels that have received great critical acclaim over the years from Watchmen to Maus to Black Hole, but few have reached the level of Batman: The Killing Joke.  Stated by many to be the greatest graphic novel of all time, The Killing Joke was the first to give a backstory to the character of the Joker and even proved to be an inspiration for Tim Burton to create the classic 1989 Batman.



            Undoubtedly, when it was announced that DC was going to create an animated film adaptation of the novel, there were some pretty big shoes for this movie to fill.  But people were pretty excited when it was revealed that the film would reunite Kevin Conroy, Tara Strong, and the legend himself, Mark Hamill, as Batman, Batgirl, and the Joker, respectively.  However, now that the movie has finally been released, will it prove to be as great as its source material or will it become one of the biggest embarrassments since "bat nipples" or the "bat credit card"?  Well, let's take a look.



            This movie begins showing the interactions and complicated relationship between Batman and Batgirl AKA Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner James Gordon, as they try to stop the nephew of a local crime boss.  Later on, after Barbara has hung up the cowl after almost going too far with apprehending said criminal, the movie shifts to focus on the Joker who's escaped from Arkham and has deranged plans for both James and Barbara, all the while flashing back to the Joker's origins as a failed comedian who had "one bad night" that pushed him too far.



            O.K.  I'm not gonna lie to you guys, but I never read Batman: The Killing Joke before seeing this movie so I'm only going off of what I viewed and, from what I saw, I think that this is one of the best Batman movies I've seen since the Burton ones or The Dark Knight.



            The movie definitely earns its hard R rating as it's particularly violent and disturbing, but something that I thought was very smart was that they kept the language of the movie relatively sanitized (for the most part).  This wasn't something like the Deadpool movie where the swearing was such a strong, necessary part of the source material that you couldn't leave it out so I found it kind of nice that this movie was willing to show some restraint even with as hard a rating as it was.



            The animation looks amazing as it mostly sticks to the hand drawn style while incorporating CG very sparingly.  The voice acting is also very much on point.  You believe everything that these characters say through their tone.  Even the flashbacks to the Joker's past prove to be very eye-opening as you get to see how hard he fell and how he became who he is today.



            The tone switches often between hilarious and terrifying, even including the Joker's infamous song and dance number from the novel, which I thought was brought to life perfectly here.  And, finally, the relationships are very well fleshed out.  From Batman and Batgirl to Batman and the Joker, you get to see the complexities and layers of each relationship that takes place on screen.



            However, even with all the praises I gave this movie, there is one problem that I had with it, though it might be somewhat of a nitpick.  The problem is that it seemed to almost be like 2 separate movies.  The 1st act plays out very much like a crime drama and focuses more on Batgirl, but then the 2nd and 3rd acts feel very much like a psychological thriller/horror focusing more on the Joker.  It's kind of like the Nostalgia Critic's review of A.I. Artificial Intelligence where he referred to everything that happens after the main character is abandoned in the woods as "Movie 2" it's just slightly distracting.



            Overall, though, there's no denying that Batman: The Killing Joke is a strong entry into the DC Animated Universe with great animation, top-notch voice acting, and a gripping look at the origins of one of the greatest comic book villains of all time.  For these reasons, and several more, I give Batman: The Killing Joke a 4.5/5 stars.  If you haven't seen it in theaters either yesterday or today, be sure to buy the Blu-Ray or DVD when it comes out next week.  It's well worth the money.







            And that was my review of Batman: The Killing Joke and, for those of you who got to see it during its limited theatrical release, I'd like to know your thoughts on it.  I've heard that there were some changes between the movie and the source material so I'd like to hear from anyone who's both read the novel and seen the movie.  Did you enjoy the changes or did you find them to be really forced and redundant?  Feel free to comment below, keep loving movies and TV Shows, and I'll see y'all on my next post.  Take care.